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The New York Yankees are being aggressive in the early stages of the offseason. Losing Juan Soto will be the talk of the winter for the Yankees, but it’s tough to ignore the moves they’ve made.
When the Yankees dominated Major League Baseball in the past, it was largely due to their spending habits. While the Yankees have an expensive payroll every season, they could up it even more heading into 2025 and build the best possible team.
To do so would require replacing Anthony Rizzo. They could give the starting job to Ben Rice, but if the Yankees want to give themselves the best chance to win the World Series, signing a proven Big League player would be the thing to do.
That’s where Christian Walker could come into play. Walker, 33 years old, has plenty left in the tank and has hit at least 26 home runs in each of the past three seasons. He’s also considered one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball, winning three straight Gold Glove Awards.
He’ll be compensated for that, with Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicting him to sign a three-year, $75 million deal.
“The big question is how much value the soon-to-be 34-year-old has left to add over the next three years. If he continues to produce at that level with 30+ home runs per year and fantastic glovework at first base, the contract projections above would be steals.
“For what it’s worth, both Paul Goldschmidt and José Abreu were pretty darn valuable in both their age-34 and age-35 seasons before both dropping off a cliff at age 36. Some motivated buyer will be willing to bet on Walker doing the same—or at least bet on him being considerably more productive in 2025 than the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell or Goldschmidt, who are also still available,” Miller wrote on December 13.
Miller added that the Yankees “are probably the best bet here,” but he could be of better use for a different team willing to overpay for him.
Yankees In the Mix for Walker
The New York Yankees have been linked to Walker plenty of times over the past few months. The idea of replacing Rizzo with him makes perfect sense, and after losing Soto, they could use a power bat in the middle of their lineup.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees “renewed contract discussions” with the veteran after they lost Soto.
“With Juan Soto off their board, the Yankees on Sunday night renewed contract discussions with free agent first baseman Christian Walker, The Post has learned.
“Walker is far from the only player the Yankees are pursuing in free agency and trade. And the Yankees are multitasking on pitchers and hitters as they try to reallocate some of the money they offered Soto after the slugging outfielder opted to leave pinstripes for the Mets’ 15-year, $765 million package,” Sherman wrote on December 10.
Can the Yankees Trust Walker?
Signing aging players is always questionable, but Walker isn’t old enough just yet to worry about him. If he were to sign a three-year deal, his third year could become worrisome, but the hope would be for the New York Yankees to win a World Series before that.
Trusting a veteran of his caliber is easy, and if the Yankees complete a deal for the late bloomer with other moves, they could be a scary team next season.
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